[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 203 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62624-62626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26750]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[CT-62-7221a; A-1-FRL-6877-5]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Connecticut; Post-1996 Rate of Progress Plans

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
submitted by the State of Connecticut. These revisions establish post-
1996 rate of progress (ROP) emission reduction plans, including minor 
adjustments to the Connecticut 1990 base year inventory, for the 
Greater Hartford serious ozone nonattainment area, and for the 
Connecticut portion of the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut (NY-NJ-CT) 
severe ozone nonattainment area. The intended effect of this action is 
to approve these SIP revisions as meeting the requirements of the Clean 
Air Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule will become effective on November 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are 
available for public inspection during normal business hours, by 
appointment at the Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA-New England, One Congress Street, 11th floor, 
Boston, MA; and the Bureau of Air Management, Department of 
Environmental Protection, State Office Building, 79 Elm Street, 
Hartford, CT 06106-1630.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert McConnell, (617) 918-1046.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Supplementary Information section is 
organized as follows:

    A. What action is EPA taking today?
    B. What changes were made to the Connecticut base year 
inventory?
    C. What are Connecticut's target emission levels for VOC and 
NOX?
    D. What control strategy will Connecticut use to meet its 
emission target levels?
    E. How did Connecticut meet the contingency measure requirement?
    F. What are the State's conformity budgets?

A. What Action is EPA Taking Today?

    EPA is approving post-1996 ROP emission reduction plans through 
1999, and minor revisions to the 1990 base year inventory, submitted by 
the State of Connecticut for the Greater Hartford serious ozone 
nonattainment area, and the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT severe 
ozone nonattainment area, which is a multi-state ozone nonattainment 
area, as revisions to Connecticut's SIP. Connecticut did not enter into 
an agreement with New York and New Jersey to do a multi-state ROP plan, 
and therefore submitted a plan to reduce emissions only in the 
Connecticut portion of this area. EPA is taking action today only on 
the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT post-1996 plan.
    The post-1996 ROP plans document how Connecticut complied with the 
provisions of section 182 (c)(2) of the Federal Clean Air Act (the 
Act), through 1999. These sections of the Act require states containing 
certain ozone nonattainment areas develop strategies to reduce 
emissions of the pollutants that react to form ground level ozone.
    On June 30, 2000 (65 FR 40560), EPA published a proposed rulemaking 
for the State of Connecticut. That document proposed approval of the 
Connecticut post-1996 ROP plans. The formal SIP revision was submitted 
by Connecticut on December 30, 1997 and January 7, 1998.

B. What Changes Were Made to the Connecticut Base Year Inventory?

    Connecticut made two minor changes to its 1990 base year inventory, 
as described in the June 30, 2000 proposed approval action. EPA 
approved the Connecticut 1990 base year emission inventory on October 
24, 1997 (62 FR

[[Page 62625]]

55336). The revised base year emission estimates shown in Table 1 are 
being approved as a revision to the State's SIP. The emission values in 
Table 1 represent tons per summer day (tpsd) emissions.

                                                     Table 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Original estimate      Revised estimate (approved in
       Nonattainment area           Source category      (approved 10/24/97)            today's action)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greater Hartford...............  Point................  NOX = 87.31 tpsd.....  NOX = 84.21 tpsd
Greater Hartford...............  On-road mobile.......  VOC = 127.12.........  VOC = 121.0
                                                        NOX = 175.56.........  NOX = 172.4
NY-NJ-CT.......................  On-road mobile.......  VOC = 43.83..........  VOC = 40.4
                                                        NOX = 55.73..........  NOX = 54.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. What Are Connecticut's Target Emission Levels for VOC and 
NOX?

    Connecticut's 1999 target emission levels are as follows. For the 
Greater Hartford area, the VOC target is 307.1 tpsd, and the 
NOX target is 297.9 tpsd. For the Connecticut portion of the 
NY-NJ-CT area, the VOC target is 93.0 tpsd, and the NOX 
target is 104.0 tpsd. These target emission levels represent the 
maximum amount of emissions that Connecticut can emit in 1999, given 
the State's post-1996 emission reduction requirements.
    These target levels match the acetone-adjusted target levels EPA 
calculated in its June 30, 2000 proposed approval action. Connecticut 
confirmed in writing by letter dated July 21, 2000 its agreement with 
EPA's adjustments to the State's original emission target levels.

D. What Control Strategy Will Connecticut use to Meet its Emission 
Target Levels?

    EPA's June 30, 2000 proposed approval action outlined the control 
strategy that Connecticut used to meet its emission target levels. In 
summary, the State's control strategy consists of the emission 
reductions from the continued enforcement of measures EPA approved as 
part of the State's 15 percent emission reduction plans (64 FR 12015) 
(March 10, 1999), coupled with emission reductions from the State's 
NOX control strategy for large industrial point sources, 
federal non-road engine standards, and Connecticut's Low Emission 
Vehicle program. All these control measures are approved as part of 
Connecticut's SIP or are otherwise enforceable under the Act.

E. How Did Connecticut Meet the Contingency Measure Requirement?

    Connecticut met the contingency requirements of sections 172(c)(9) 
and 182(c)(9) of the Act by using surplus NOX emission 
reductions achieved by the State's NOX control strategy. As 
explained in more detail in the EPA's June 30, 2000 proposed approval 
action, Connecticut's NOX control strategy achieves 
sufficient surplus reductions beyond those needed to meet the ROP 
targets to cover the State's 3 percent contingency measure obligation. 
The surplus reductions in the greater Hartford area are not sufficient 
to cover completely the area's 3 percent contingency obligation, but a 
significant 10.7 tpsd surplus remains in the NY-NJ-CT area. This 
surplus in the NY-NJ-CT area is sufficient to cover that area's 3 
percent contingency obligation, to transfer 2.4 tpsd to the Greater 
Hartford area to complete that area's contingency obligation, and to 
use 1.2 tpsd to cover the VOC shortfall that occurred due to the 
State's failure to remove acetone from its area source base year 
inventory.

F. What Are the State's Conformity Budgets?

    Although the Connecticut post-1996 ROP plans contain motor vehicle 
emission budgets for 1999, the current conformity budgets are those 
contained in the document, ``Addenda to the Ozone Attainment 
Demonstrations for the Southwest Connecticut Severe Ozone Nonattainment 
area and Greater Connecticut Serious Ozone Nonattainment area,'' which 
was submitted to EPA on February 15, 2000. This document included the 
transportation conformity budgets for 2007 shown below in Table 2.

                                 Table 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         VOC       NOX
                 Nonattainment area                    (tpsd)    (tpsd)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severe area.........................................       9.7      23.7
Serious area........................................      30.0      79.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Since these budgets are more restrictive, cover a time frame longer 
than the post-1996 ROP plans, and are based on the attainment plan, the 
2007 budgets take precedence over the 1999 budgets. Furthermore, EPA 
New England published a document in the Federal Register announcing 
that these budgets are adequate for use in transportation conformity 
determinations on June 16, 2000 (65 FR 37778). Therefore, the 2007 
budgets supersede the 1999 budgets. As a result, all new and revised 
State Transportation Improvement Programs that require a conformity 
determination must conform to these 2007 budgets, not the 1999 budgets 
contained in the post-1996 rate of progress plan.
    Other specific requirements of post-1996 ROP plans and the 
rationale for EPA's proposed action are explained in the NPR and will 
not be restated here. The only public comment received on the NPR was a 
July 21, 2000 letter from the Connecticut Department of Environmental 
Protection confirming their agreement with the manner in which EPA 
excluded acetone from the State's base year inventory.

Final Action

    EPA is approving post-1996 ROP plans for the Greater Hartford 
serious area, and the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT severe area 
through 1999, and minor revisions to the Connecticut 1990 emission 
inventory for ozone, as a revision to the Connecticut SIP.
    Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or 
allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for 
revision to any State implementation plan. Each request for revision to 
the State implementation plan shall be considered separately in light 
of specific technical, economic, and environmental factors and in 
relation to relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

III. Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action 
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601

[[Page 62626]]

et seq.). Because this rule approves pre-existing requirements under 
state law and does not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond 
that required by state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or 
significantly or uniquely affect small governments, as described in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4). For the same 
reason, this rule also does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of tribal governments, as specified by Executive Order 
13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will not have substantial 
direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national 
government and the States, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
merely approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does 
not alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the Clean Air Act. This rule also is 
not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), 
because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. In 
this context, in the absence of a prior existing requirement for the 
State to use voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority 
to disapprove a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP 
submission, to use VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Thus, the requirements 
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do not apply. As required by section 3 
of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing 
this rule, EPA has taken the necessary steps to eliminate drafting 
errors and ambiguity, minimize potential litigation, and provide a 
clear legal standard for affected conduct. EPA has complied with 
Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 15, 1988) by examining the 
takings implications of the rule in accordance with the ``Attorney 
General's Supplemental Guidelines for the Evaluation of Risk and 
Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings' issued under the executive order. 
This rule does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 
804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by December 18, 2000. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial 
review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial 
review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such 
rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings 
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons, 
Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone.

    Dated: September 15, 2000.
Mindy S. Lubber,
Regional Administrator, EPA-New England.

    Part 52 of chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart H--Connecticut

    2. Section 52.377 is added to subpart H to read as follows:


Sec. 52.377  Control strategy: Ozone.

    Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the 
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on December 30, 1997 
and January 7, 1998. These revisions are for the purpose of satisfying 
the rate of progress requirement of section 182(c)(2) through 1999, and 
the contingency measure requirements of sections 172(c)(9) and 
182(c)(9) of the Clean Air Act, for the Greater Hartford serious ozone 
nonattainment area, and the Connecticut portion of the NY-NJ-CT severe 
ozone nonattainment area.
    3. Section 52.384 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 52.384  Emission inventories.

    (a) The Governor's designee for the State of Connecticut submitted 
the 1990 base year emission inventories for the Connecticut portion of 
the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut severe ozone nonattainment area and 
the Greater Hartford serious ozone nonattainment area on January 13, 
1994 as revisions to the State's SIP. Revisions to the inventories were 
submitted on February 3, 1994, February 16, 1995, and December 30, 
1997. The 1990 base year emission inventory requirement of section 
182(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, has been satisfied 
for these areas.
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[FR Doc. 00-26750 Filed 10-18-00; 8:45 am]
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